Overview

Updated May 9, 2026

Fairspec extension template

Fairspec Extension is a data exchange format that helps PLACEHOLDER share their PLACEHOLDER. It is developed on top of the Fairspec standard.

Why Fairspec Extension?

The PLACEHOLDER lacks a standardized format for exchanging data among publishers, and aggregation platforms. This creates several challenges:

Data inconsistency: Each platform uses its own proprietary format, making integration difficult
Manual data entry: Often needed to manually enter the same data across multiple platforms
Limited interoperability: Aggregators must maintain custom integrations for each data source
Data quality issues: Without clear schemas, data validation and quality control are challenging

Fairspec Extension solves these problems by providing a standardized, validated, and extensible format for sharing data. Built on the proven Fairspec standard, it ensures data is machine-readable, well-documented, and easy to integrate.

Structure of a Fairspec Extension

A Fairspec Extension is a Fairspec that follows the Fairspec specification. The file contains metadata about the package and one or more data resources:

Basic Structure

{
  "$schema": "https://fairspec.github.io/fairspec-extension/profiles/<version>/dataset.json",
  "resources": [
    {
      "name": "table1",
      "tableSchema": "https://fairspec.github.io/fairspec-extension/schemas/<version>/table1.json",
      "data": [{...}, {...}, {...}]
    },
    {
      "name": "table2",
      "tableSchema": "https://fairspec.github.io/fairspec-extension/schemas/<version>/table2.json",
      "data": [{...}]
    }
  ]
}

Key Components

Profile: References the Fairspec Extension profile that defines the structure and validation rules
Resources: An array containing resources:
- table1: First table
- table2: Second table (and so on)

Each resource includes:

name: The resource type identifier
schema: URL pointing to the JSON schema that validates the data structure

Data Relationships

The resources might be connected through foreign keys. The relationships are defined in the data table schemas.